Airlines are clamping down on check-in rules – with passengers forking out because of simple mistakes
NEXT time you travel with a budget carrier, you may end up paying to check in for your flight – even if you thought it was free.
Passengers are often caught out at airports and end up having to pay extra fees to board their flights, including some big charges for small services.
Most budget airlines are known for charging customers extra for hand luggage and priority boarding, but some carriers charge passengers to check-in to their flights.
Both Ryanair and Wizz Air have been known to charge customers to check-in at the airport.
While both of the budget carriers have a free online check-in service, passengers who’ve struggled to check-in online have been charged at the airport for the service.
Wizz Air
Wizz Air charges passengers £35.50 to check-in at the airport, if they haven’t pre-booked in advance.
The budget carrier also has an auto check-in service that costs £11.50 per person.
One passenger was caught out by the travel charge on a recent flight with the airline.
The passenger claims they were unable to check-in for free online, and they were only given provided with an option to be automatically check-in to their flight.
To avoid the £11.50 charge, the passenger headed to the airport in a bid to check-in for free but was charged £40 by airport staff.
He described the charge as an “absolute con” in a video on TikTok.
Ryanair
Ryanair also charges passengers to check-in at the airport.
Anyone who doesn’t check in for their flight online two hours before their scheduled takeoff time has to pay a £55 fee for boarding pass printing, as set out in the terms and conditions on the airline’s website.
Anyone who loses their card at the airport will have to pay a £20 reissue fee.
The fee is listed as an “airport check-in fee” and will be handed out to anyone who doesn’t do it prior to their arrival at the airport.
It states: “If you do not check in online more than two hours before the scheduled departure time, you will be charged the airport check-in fee set out in our table of fees.”
Last year, an elderly couple were caught out by the charge after they accidentally printed out the wrong boarding passes for their flights.
Other airlines like easyJet and British Airways allow their customers to check-in at the airport for free.
Hand luggage travellers are also finding stricter rules, with many passengers opting to ditch the checked in bag to save money.
This, however, has resulted in full overhead cabins and even delayed flights, with some experts calling for airlines to get rid of overhead cabins entirely.
David Young, who has worked on cabin designs for airlines for Teague, previously said: “I’d say we’re at a breaking point. We’ve hit as big as we can go. Maybe we don’t need carry-ons at all.”
Until then, there are plenty of ways to make hand luggage space stretch that little bit further, including stuffing clothes into shoes, using packing cubes and rolling clothes.
Here are some of the best bags that won’t break the bank and you can take onto flights.
Meanwhile, the best airlines in the UK have been revealed with one English carrier topping the list thanks to clean cabins and cheap flights.
Hand luggage rules for UK airlines
We’ve rounded up how much hand luggage you can take on UK airlines when booking their most basic fare.
Ryanair
One personal bag measuring no more than 40cm x 20cm x 25cm
EasyJet
One personal bag measuring no larger than 45cm x 36cm x 20cm
Jet2
One personal item that fits underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm weighing up to 10kg
TUI
One personal item that its underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm weighing up to 10kg
British Airways
One personal bag no larger than 40cm x 30cm x 15cm and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 45cm 25cm weighing up to 23kg
Virgin Atlantic
One personal item that fits underneath the seat in front and one cabin bag no larger than 56cm x 36cm x 23cm weighing up to 10kg